We get one "day off" per week. That day is today. We still have to wake up at 530am, go to Satsang (church) from 6am to 8am, and also at night from 6pm to 8pm. We have to do our hour of karma yoga (work). But we have freedom for all that day in between and my work shift is right before dinner.
I hate when people tell you how busy they are but I'm going to tell you I haven't even had time to write in my planner or completely unpack my bag. So I spent the morning after church organizing my corner, changing sheets, and catching up with the drama back in the U.S. One of my chicks continues to be sick with some mysterious disease. Side note lesson: Only buy chickens from well established reputable breeders. I don't fault myself for trying to support a local, mom and pop business, but in cases of livestock, it was not worth it. I responded to some work emails and applied for a grant for my last year of school. I caught up with Joseph, my sister, and mike.
Then I did my yoga school homework. We have to summarize the main lecture of every day. I also had to write out a summary of how to teach a beginner yoga course. Then me and Seattle girl decided to leave the ashram for a beach walk to the Starbucks at Atlantis (giant resort neighbor). We did some venting, got lost on paradise island and ended up in the world's oldest minivan taxi. Then it was time for more homework, a swim and now, writing this before dinner.
I continue to learn german words and cultural no no's from my roomie. Last night she asked me for some of my tiger balm (pain relieving balm). I gave her some and she thanked me. Apparently my response was "mmhmm". She then explained that she knows this response to thank you is normal for Americans but is considered quite rude in Germany. I told her I would try to change my ways and how do I say thank you in German? She said I could go with "bitte" or "gerne" which is pronounced "gerna". The gerne one is like an extra nice you're welcome so I've been trying to use that one.
In other funny language mishaps my german roomie told me she was going to the beach yesterday so she could get as tainted (tanned) as me. To her credit she corrected herself but we had a laugh with the mistake. None of the holy people here are Americans. For example the swamis (priests) are: German, French Canadian, and Israeli. One of the visiting Swamis is an Israeli and he's also a really great story teller. We are going to be reading the Bhagavad Gita together, but it can be a confusing story out of context so he was giving us some background stories before we dive in. The "Gita" is the main Hindu scripture, and a mainstay of yogi spirituality. The Swami mentioned that Tolkien borrowed a lot of his ideas for the Lord of the Rings, especially battles from the Gita. Anyway, he was telling the story of how this one king was trying to impregnate his wife from a distance and sent a vial of his semen by bird to his wife. Unfortunately en route the bird was chased by a bigger bird and dropped the semen into the water where it was caught by a "she fish". That's the funny part- "she fish". A bunch of people, including the Swami got a good laugh out of that.
And of course in addition to language and ancient text lessons there is intense spiritual inquiry and physical strain, but we'll talk about that some other time. Suffice to say that I'm holding up. The next day off is next Thursday. I'll try to post before that time but no promises.
I hate when people tell you how busy they are but I'm going to tell you I haven't even had time to write in my planner or completely unpack my bag. So I spent the morning after church organizing my corner, changing sheets, and catching up with the drama back in the U.S. One of my chicks continues to be sick with some mysterious disease. Side note lesson: Only buy chickens from well established reputable breeders. I don't fault myself for trying to support a local, mom and pop business, but in cases of livestock, it was not worth it. I responded to some work emails and applied for a grant for my last year of school. I caught up with Joseph, my sister, and mike.
Then I did my yoga school homework. We have to summarize the main lecture of every day. I also had to write out a summary of how to teach a beginner yoga course. Then me and Seattle girl decided to leave the ashram for a beach walk to the Starbucks at Atlantis (giant resort neighbor). We did some venting, got lost on paradise island and ended up in the world's oldest minivan taxi. Then it was time for more homework, a swim and now, writing this before dinner.
I continue to learn german words and cultural no no's from my roomie. Last night she asked me for some of my tiger balm (pain relieving balm). I gave her some and she thanked me. Apparently my response was "mmhmm". She then explained that she knows this response to thank you is normal for Americans but is considered quite rude in Germany. I told her I would try to change my ways and how do I say thank you in German? She said I could go with "bitte" or "gerne" which is pronounced "gerna". The gerne one is like an extra nice you're welcome so I've been trying to use that one.
In other funny language mishaps my german roomie told me she was going to the beach yesterday so she could get as tainted (tanned) as me. To her credit she corrected herself but we had a laugh with the mistake. None of the holy people here are Americans. For example the swamis (priests) are: German, French Canadian, and Israeli. One of the visiting Swamis is an Israeli and he's also a really great story teller. We are going to be reading the Bhagavad Gita together, but it can be a confusing story out of context so he was giving us some background stories before we dive in. The "Gita" is the main Hindu scripture, and a mainstay of yogi spirituality. The Swami mentioned that Tolkien borrowed a lot of his ideas for the Lord of the Rings, especially battles from the Gita. Anyway, he was telling the story of how this one king was trying to impregnate his wife from a distance and sent a vial of his semen by bird to his wife. Unfortunately en route the bird was chased by a bigger bird and dropped the semen into the water where it was caught by a "she fish". That's the funny part- "she fish". A bunch of people, including the Swami got a good laugh out of that.
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| One of the places to eat. |
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| One of the yoga platforms that faces Nassau Bay |
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